The Organization of American States (OAS) called for elections in Haiti as soon as possible and opened the way for an investigation into the ousting of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Over the objections of the US and Haiti's new government, the OAS General Assembly approved a resolution on Tuesday night noting Aristide's removal was unconstitutional and allowing an assessment of what occurred.
Aristide accuses the US of forcing him from office -- a charge Washington denies. A US-supplied jet flew Aristide to the Central African Republic on Feb. 29 as rebels advanced on the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, and he is now in asylum in South Africa after spending several weeks in Jamaica.
The ministers agreed to channel their efforts on Haiti through the OAS Permanent Council in Washington. They committed their nations to undertaking "all the diplomatic initiatives necessary" to promote democracy in Haiti.
In a resolution, the foreign ministers urged "the transitional government in Haiti to create conditions conducive to the holding of free, fair and democratic elections in Haiti as soon as possible."
After Aristide's removal, multinational forces entered the country to re-establish order under the authority of the UN Security Council.
Foreign ministers from around the Americas also declared war on the deeply ingrained corruption in the region at the end of a two-day meeting in Quito.
corruption
US Secretary of State Colin Powell urged nations to "advance democratic governance and economic growth in this region" by fighting corruption.
A document signed by 34 foreign ministers or heads of delegations states, "corruption has a serious impact on public and private institutions, weakens economic growth and impinges upon the needs and fundamental interests of a country's most vulnerable social groups."
The foreign ministers pledged they would keep corrupt officials from entering their countries and agreed to cooperate in recovering stolen funds.
But the general assembly rejected a Peruvian proposal calling for countries to extradite officials accused of corruption. The Peruvian government had hoped the measure would allow it to extradite former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori from Japan.
Mexico, which has a long history of providing refugee to officials who say they are fleeing political persecution, opposed Peru's proposal.
The US was also unsuccessful in persuading other nations to agree to impose sanctions on corrupt governments.
"Governments are not corrupt," Peruvian Foreign Minister Manuel Rodriguez said during a break in the debate. "Members of a given government are corrupt."
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